Ghost of a Chance
by Rassilon001
Summary: A damaged engine forces the crew of the Ghost to crash land on a hostile planet. Lost and alone, short on supplies, hounded by deadly animals and a frigid environment, can they truly hope to survive with no one to rely on but one another? They might need more than the Force to save them this time.
1. The Crystal

**Disclaimer:  
><span>**I do not own Star Wars Rebels, its characters, or its expanded universe. They belong to George Lucas, Lucasfilms, and Disney XD.

**Summary:  
><span>**A damaged engine forces the crew of the Ghost to crash land on a hostile planet. Lost and alone, short on supplies, hounded by deadly animals and a frigid environment, can they truly hope to survive with no one to rely on but one another? They might need more than the Force to save them this time. Rated PG-13 for action violence and some romance. Takes place sometime after 'Gathering Forces,' but before 'Path of the Jedi.'

* * *

><p>"<strong><em>The Crystal is the Heart of the Blade<em>**."

* * *

><p>In an instant, it all fell apart.<p>

One second they'd been dodging Tie Fighter fire like it was just another day in the life of a Rebel. Intercepting Imperial convoys, smashing up some storm troopers, appropriating some much needed cargo and being on their merry way. The mission hadn't gone smoothly as they liked but they had got it done in the end, and they'd been preparing to enter hyperspace and let the Empire eat their space dust.

Then one stray blast had caught their port engine.

Normally, a ship damaged thusly had built-in safety features to prevent it entering hyperspace in such a damaged state. But the timing of the shot could not have been more horrible had the pilot of the Tie Fighter planned it. It struck their engine at the exact moment their hyperdrive engaged, sending the Ghost hurtling out of control through the glowing tunnel of hyperspace.

Inertial dampeners tried and failed to compensate for the wildly fluctuating trajectory, as everyone was flung against a nearby surface hard, scrambling against walls and along the floor in a vain attempt to hold on to something. Hera slammed a hand down sharply on the emergency stop, cutting power to the engines, and the Ghost was flung out of hyperdrive and back into normal space, still tumbling wildly out of control.

"Hera, what the hell?!" shouted Kanan as he tumbled into the cockpit. His padawan stumbled in close behind him.

"Working on it!" their pilot spat back, struggling vainly with the controls. Alas, no matter how hard she pulled on the wheel, the Ghost continued to spiral out of control. "I've got no control, and sensors are out! We're flying blind!"

"Everybody brace for impact!" Kanan yelled over the intercom, buckling himself in next to Hera. He punched in instructions to the on-board computer, trying to bring back up their sensors to ensure they weren't heading towards anything big.

"Trouble!" shouted Ezra, pointing out the viewscreen. Kanan and Hera saw it too. Though the image was moving in and out thanks to their wildly spinning vessel the great glare of white was only getting bigger. They were heading right towards a planet.

"I've got an idea!" Hera exclaimed, flipping switches as she issued out commands. "Zeb! Anything that isn't nailed down, pushing up against the starboard side. We need to shift the ballast. Chopper, Ezra, give him a hand!"

"Chopper's down!" Ezra reported, even as he scrambled down one of the corridors to the cargo hold. "He might be broken!"

"We'll fix him up later!" Kanan replied. Almost immediately, there came a horrible wrenching sound, and something metallic flitted past the viewscreen. "If there is a latter," he muttered.

"She'll hold," insisted Hera, gripping the wheel so tight her hands were starting to go numb. "She'll hold."

* * *

><p>Normally, the cargo bay of the Ghost was more uncomfortably empty than the crew tended to appreciate. The stray crate of food supplies, or the occasional canister of oxygen, the littered stray parts of one of Sabine's newest bombs were about all that cluttered the floor. Today, however, they were almost stocked to the gills by a number of heavy metal containers. Each held a newly manufactured heating unit, designed to be installed on a vessel or a home and keep it warm throughout even the harshest of winters.<p>

They'd just been 'borrowed' from an Imperial Convoy, and were on their way to Dantooine to drop them off, since the people there were in sore need of such for a coming blizzard season. Right now, however, they were being shoved up against the walls on Hera's command to create ballast by Zeb and Ezra. Sabine helped with the lighter stuff, but whenever the mag-lift was engaged the crate in question would be much more difficult to control due to the constantly shifting inertia. And light or heavy, the crates were still solidly built. One wrong move could flatten a foot or hand.

Finally, however, they'd gotten everything they could stacked up on the starboard side of the ship, as instructed. Garazeb Orrelios, better known by his crewmates as just Zeb, tapped the panel by the speaker to relay the information to their pilot.

"Everything's in place Hera, now can we please stop spinning?!" he pleaded into the intercom.

"Sure thing," Hera replied. "Just lean up against the starboard side. Now."

He raised a furry brow, even as Sabine and Ezra followed the order immediately. "Why? What're you gonna-?"

And then his feet were wrenched out from underneath him as his body slammed into the far wall.

* * *

><p>While not personally witnessing the display, the grunts and slams heard over the intercom had left Hera with a fairly clear mental image of what had just happened. She smirked wickedly.<p>

"I did try to warn him," she sing-songed, her lekku now dangling sideways.

Kanan shifted in his seat, leaning up, since gravity was pulling on him from a new angle at the moment. "Interesting," he remarked, glancing over at Hera, who was still struggling to bring their ship under control.

By putting all their weight on one side of the ship and firing up the engines on just that side, it had been easier to regain control of their momentum. Gradually, their spinning started to cut down to a shaky wobble and Hera switched the direction of gravity again, returning it to normal. Some dull thuds and groaning from the back of the ship told her they'd just found out as much in the cargo bay. Hopefully injuries were light, but there was nothing they could do for it now.

While the Ghost was no longer spinning wildly, its speed did not decrease, even as Hera fired the forward engines to try and slow them. If anything, their momentum was climbing by the second, and the white crescent on their screens was getting bigger by the second.

"Pull up!" shouted Kanan.

"Can't! We're caught in the gravity pull!"

By now even with the shaking they could make out the white image in their screens was a full-sized planet, some sort of frozen world covered in little more than ice and snow. It didn't seem to have any other features to speak of, and they couldn't be sure if they were crashing down by the equator or one of the poles, but the end result was the same: they _were_ crashing here. Hera valiantly struggled with the controls to try and keep them as close to level as she could, but no matter how you sliced this it wasn't going to be pretty.

"Everybody brace yourselves!" she shouted.

"Hold on!" Kanan yelled, taking his own advice and gripping the co-pilot seat in tight hands.

The ship lurched hard to the side as one of the engines spluttered and almost died on them, forcing Hera to pull hard on the steering wheel to try and keep them steady. They were headed for a series of ridges in the frozen ground, great jagged spikes of ice that closely resembled a number of discarded swords. No matter which angle they approached it, it wasn't going to be smooth.

Hera managed to level out the Ghost seconds before it clipped the first ridge, sending the entire thing bouncing high into the air. The impact jostled everyone in their restraints, sending one or two crashing to the ground as the Ghost skipped another ridge, tilting sideways as the impact threw its rear forward. One of its wings was heavily gouged by the impact but managed to stay on, even as the rebel ship struck the ground, skidding hard along its side, digging up great mounds of snow and ice until finally, mercifully, it came to a stop. For an instant it teetered, as if uncertain, then finally came crashing down onto its underside, tilted at an angle but more or less upright.

The Ghost was down.

* * *

><p>Finally satisfied the ship had come to a full and complete stop, Kanan reluctantly cracked open an eye, surprised to find himself still alive. And relatively undamaged. Yet another terrible crash he'd walk away from, it seemed. And they had the supremely excellent Captain Hera Syndulla to thank for it.<p>

"Whoo... _nice_ flyin' Hera," he said.

Hera cut power to the engines and slumped in her seat, letting out a breath she hadn't even realized she'd been holding. All the strength just slipped right out of her.

"Thank you. Be a dear and check on the kids, would you?"

He grimaced as he unclipped his harness, he'd be bruised for a week but at least it had prevented him from getting worse injuries. Climbing to his feet he exited the cockpit and made his way aft to where the others were.

"Everyone alive back there?" Kanan asked.

"I'm okay," reported Ezra, already on his feet.

Zeb crawled to his feet, rubbing his head. "Head feels like I was run over by a speeder but I'll live."

"Sabine?"

The Mandalorian winced as she climbed to her feet with the help of Ezra and Zeb, but luckily she'd been wearing her helmet. Taking it off and shaking loose her multicolored locks of hair, she gave a thumbs up to indicate she was going to be okay.

Or at least as okay as any of them would be.

The Ghost had taken quite a beating, and the lights began to flicker as engine power started to fluctuate. Kanan quickly switched them over to auxiliary systems while they did an internal damage report. It wasn't looking very good, though the ship itself looked largely undamaged most of its systems had overheated. It was going to need a good couple of hours just to restart everything. And they had absolutely no idea just how damaged the framework outside had been busted up.

"Guess we're gonna have to go outside..." grumbled Hera, having finally recovered enough energy to rejoin them.

"How's the atmosphere?" asked Kanan. If it wasn't hospitable to humanoid life forms they did have some breathers, but there weren't many to go around. If it was really bad...

"Breathable," Sabine reported, sparing him having to make such a decision. As if anticipating his next thought, Sabine called up the next relevant bit of data as well. "Gravity slightly higher than normal, but plenty of oxygen to go around."

"Okay, Chopper, go ahead and get started on a damage report and-... where _is_ Chopper?"

A muffled beep of indignation caused Zeb to push aside some overturned crates, revealing underneath the beaten and battered form of Chopper, who definitely looked like he'd seen better days.

"You okay you piece of scrap?" asked the lasak as he picked up the little droid and set him back on his wheels.

_Boop-boop-boop. Beep._

"Bah, walk it off, you'll be fine," Ezra retorted.

_Beep. Beep. Boop. Beep._

"Oh, I see... Ezra, dig him out and see if you can't get him back on his wheels?" asked Kanan. The young padawan saluted, digging through the cargo mess for some tools.

Hera grabbed the bigger lasak by the arm. "That means you're with me, big guy. Let's get outside and see how badly damaged we are. Kanan, can you get the life support back up?"

"Sure thing. I got this."

"We'll be outside if you need us.

"Just holler if you need help, I doubt our communicators will be working in this weather."

"Sure thing."

"Oh and break out the winter gear. It's colder than the void out there."

* * *

><p>Wrapped up in heavy fur parkas, Hera and Zeb descended the side of the Ghost to check out the damage, starting with the engines. The sheer strain of being flung out of hyperspace had definitely taken its toll on the cruiser, but nothing a little patching up couldn't fix. Most of the damage was superficial in the long run.<p>

"Say what you want about my ship but she's reliable," Hera said proudly, patting the hull. It wouldn't win any beauty contests anytime soon, but it had held up, and she couldn't have asked more of it.

The real trouble was their entry. Coming in so hot, they'd melted the ice beneath their hull, and it was starting to freeze back over. The Ghost was going to be trapped unless they blasted their way free.

"I got this part," Zeb said, unslinging his bo-rifle and cracking up the ice with a few well-placed shots. "You take a look under the hood."

Nodding, Hera did just that, shivering the whole while, her teeth starting to chatter. The Twi'lek homeworld was more notoriously warm than cold, at least the hemisphere she'd come from, and right now she would've given her left leg to be back there instead of freezing her lekku off. Prying open the panel produced a face full of smoke, and Hera coughed and choked as she waved a hand to try and dispel some of it. Sparks flew from the broken engine as she took a good look at the damage. Simply put, it wasn't pretty.

"This could take a while..." she said forlornly.

* * *

><p>Finally having gotten Chopper back on his wheels, the makeshift hellraiser had decided to reward Ezra's efforts with a playful shock from his electrical prod. Cursing good-naturedly, the droid headed aft to begin working on repairs, while Ezra took the time to dig out his own winter coat. Temperature dropped more slowly inside of the Ghost but it was already starting to feel a little more chilly than he liked.<p>

Like Kanan, already dressed, and Hera, Ezra's coat was a functional slate-gray item with a minimum of paler fur trimming around the hood and sleeves. A nano-machine weave was in the fibers helping to keep you warm and toasty under most wintery conditions, though outside would test that to its limits.

The doors to the cargo bay slid open. "Well, looks like nothings broken on the inside of the Ghost," Sabine reported as she walked past. "It's a hell of a mess out there though from when gravity shifted. Gonna take us forever to clean it up."

Ezra glanced up as she walked past, and felt his eyes widen. Unlike the others, Sabine's wintery garb was custom, a skintight ivory outfit which included a hood and cape, all lined in fur and marked by her distinctive artistic flair, though in a series of pale blues and lavenders instead of bright orange and gold. It did wonders to emphasize her figure...

A hand clapped him on the shoulder. "Quit staring kid, your eyes will roll right out of their sockets," Kanan said with a good-natured laugh. Ezra felt his cheeks grow hot, realizing he _had_ been staring. Fortunately, Sabine didn't notice either of them.

"How's Chopper?"

"Back on his feet," Ezra replied. "What's next?"

"Next is waiting for Hera's report. She knows the Ghost best, she'll determine what we need to do."

* * *

><p>Outside the Ghost, Hera had finished her initial look at the engines and was starting to remove the damaged components. Problem was her hands were shaking due to the cold, and a lot of her manual dexterity was hampered by the thick gloves she wore. Ultimately she gave up in frustration, slamming the panel closed with a lot more force than was necessary. She couldn't work like this.<p>

Below, Zeb had managed to halt the ship sinking further into the ice, but that was about as far as he'd been able to. The rest of the ice was going to continue to advance but no more quickly than the rest of the planet, and with any luck it would settle atop of the Ghost instead of clinging to it from below. It would make takeoff easier when the time came. Pausing in his work, he took a moment to rub his hands and exhale some hot breath onto them to try and keep them warm as they started to go numb. He may've been a bit more thick-skinned than the others on the crew, but even he felt the cold pretty keenly. His aching head wasn't helping either. He was in a bad mood, and in lieu of some troopers to beat up, the ice was suffering his wrath.

"Lousy stinkin' karabast," he grumbled, blasting away the last bit of ice from the Ghost and shouldering his bo-rifle.

The wind began to pick up.

Hera noticed it first, but it wasn't long before Zeb had glanced up in the general direction of the south as well. The winds, already howling, began to positively scream, and snow began to whip up all around them as heavy clouds formed overhead, moving with alarming speed. Temperature, already unpleasantly cold, continued to drop from wind chill as the night sky darkened.

A storm was brewing.

* * *

><p><strong><span>Authors Notes:<br>**Please leave a review if you're enjoying the story. There's much more to come.

Had to make some slight alterations to my plan when the show revealed new elements, but overall it should still work and fit within canon. Frankly a lot of it echoes what happened in the latest episode. If later proven to be a complete AU, hopefully my readers will still enjoy the story.

Trebuxet provided the very excellent cover art for the story, and indeed has countless other artistic works on their deviantart page worth checking out.


	2. The Heart

"**_The Heart is the Crystal of the Jedi_**."

* * *

><p>The cargo bay door slid open, admitting a shivering twi'lek and a half-frozen lasak, both of whom stumbled inside, rubbing their arms and shaking all over from the cold. Nearby, Ezra glanced up from his work on Chopper as the two of them stumbled in. The doors slid closed behind them.<p>

"Still snowing out there, is it?" Ezra quipped sarcastically.

Zeb grumbled and swiped at the human boy, narrowly missing as Ezra dodged aside and skipped down the corridor, still laughing. Kanan made his way over to Hera's side as she shrugged off the hood of her parka and shook out her lekku.

"How bad is it?" he asked.

"Superficial damage mostly to the ship, the Ghost should be able to fly again... the trick is getting _to_ the engines. It's way too hostile out there to make repairs now."

"So we wait until morning," Kanan replied. "No problem, right?"

"Uh, little bit of a problem," Sabine said, coming down from the upper deck to join them. "I just finished getting some of our short-range sensors back on-line. This planet's massive and it rotates like, super slow. The average day is close to the same length as _twenty_ back on Lothal."

The rebel leader grimaced, tugging at his goatee. This could mean that 'Daytime' could be as much as a week off.

"Could we maybe just take the Phantom and come back for the Ghost later?" asked Ezra as he returned with Zeb. "Get some help, supplies, maybe a tow-..."

"Phantom only fits four," Hera replied. "Five is pushing it, and anyway it's not designed for hyperspace travel. We could go anywhere we wanted on the planet, maybe the solar system if we're lucky, but there's no guarantee there's any outposts in this region. Plus, it could be dangerous to lift off in this storm."

_Okay so that wasn't an option_, Kanan thought. "Any good news?" It certainly couldn't get much worse.

Sabine nodded. "Some. Temperature _is_ rising gradually," she reported. "Point oh one of a degree every hour with a ten percentage curve. So if we hole up here and weather the storm by the time it passes it should be safe enough to venture outside. Brutally unpleasant, but realistically survivable. Dawn must be coming soon."

"Then looks like these rust buckets are getting some use," Zeb said, slapping one of the heating generators.

* * *

><p>In the end, the plan was simple. Shut down all power on the Ghost, power up a heating generator in the cargo bay, and bunk out there in order to preserve power and warmth. It was a little more cramped than some would've liked, but it would work.<p>

Ezra carried the sleeping bags into the cargo hold, while Zeb pushed up the crates against the walls, stacking them atop one another to give as much room as possible between them. The lights flickered overhead, going out briefly, then the auxiliary system kicked in, providing a dull illumination. The drop in temperature was noticeable.

"Too much to hope we crashed somewhere nice and tropical," muttered Zeb. "When this is all over, remind me to cash in my vacation days on Corellia's Golden Beaches."

"Sounds good to me," Ezra replied. "Think I'll join you. I could use some sun and surf."

And maybe, if they were truly fortunate, he could coax Sabine along on such a trip as well. The idea of her on some distant Corellian beach, dressed in some skimpy bathing suit, was almost enough for him to forget the cold.

Almost.

Unfortunately, the same couldn't be said for the pain. Specifically, the pain of Chopper rolling right over his foot as he went past, nearly making him drop the bundle in his arms as he hopped the remaining few feet down to the cargo bay. Nearby, Sabine stifled a giggle at his antics, and Zeb rolled his eyes. Between the kids and the rust bucket this whole operation seemed more and more like a chaotic mess every day he bothered to crawl out of his bunk. He definitely needed that vacation to Corellia now.

* * *

><p>"Alright, fire it up," ordered Kanan.<p>

Zeb complied, and the heater started up. Slowly at first, then more gradually. Its design allowed it to fill a certain, specified space with unilateral heat of a specific degree. So that no matter how close or far away you were from the heater itself, it wasn't any hotter or colder. Even so, most of the crew were wrapped up in their sleeping bags as close to the generator as they could get, instinctively trying to keep as warm as possible.

Kanan and Hera, more experienced with interstellar travel and such technology, shared a smirk from the other side of the bay.

"Well, this is going to be fun," Ezra said, tossing down an old sleeping bag. One that smelled more than a little like motor oil. Evidently at some point it had been used to store tools.

"Just like camping out," Kanan remarked. "Count your lucky stars I don't have you doing wilderness survival as part of your Jedi training. One of my old masters loved to dump us padawans in the middle of nowhere and see how well we managed on our own for a week with nothing but our lightsabers."

Ezra had to admit, that certainly didn't sound very appealing. At least here he was in good company. A heating generator for warmth, an old but sturdy sleeping bag to sleep in. Even an old lantern set atop of the generator provided illumination. It hadn't been used since the Clone Wars, and it's showed, the light occasionally flickered and spluttered like a flame about to go out.

"Well, ain't this cheery?" muttered Zeb.

"It's just like camping out," Kanan maintained. "All we need now is some hot chocolate."

"Or a couple of good ghost stories. Anybody know any?" Ezra quipped sarcastically.

They all shared a laugh at that.

"I know one," Sabine said. "Heard it back at the Academy. It's a story of a spirit that haunts the space... _between_ spaces."

The lasak beside her rubbed his forehead in confusion. "Space _between_ spaces? What's that supposed to mean?" asked Zeb.

Sabine grinned, she'd hooked her audience. Leaning closer to the lantern, letting the orange light lick her features, she told the tale. "During the Time of the Old Republic, the science division of the senate was working on a TransMat System. Transportation of Matter. Transportation. Matter. TransMat!"

"Transmatting where?" asked Ezra.

"Anywhere!" she said dramatically. "Whole crates of cargo turned into light, sent halfway across the galaxy, then poof, your supplies ready to go. Or legions of troops set to protect your most distant territories, just like that. Initial tests seemed to be going well... unfortunately then they tried to transport... something living."

The way she inflected the words, it hadn't gone well, and despite himself Ezra felt a chill run down his spine. He stubbornly ignored it, putting on a brave face and tried to tell himself he wasn't afraid. It was just a stupid ghost story.

"They asked a Jedi to be part of the experiments, and he bravely volunteered, trusting in the will of the Force to keep him safe... but when they activated the TransMat, he disappeared. He never re-materialized at the other end. He just vanished into thin air."

Her intense eyes flickered over the listening members of the crew. "But then strange things started to happen around the installation. Lights would flicker on and off, sudden chills would pass down the spines of workers, banging on the panels when no one was in the room, even strange noises would come over the comms. Always garbled and static-y. When they cleaned up the noise, they heard what they were... someone screaming."

Ezra leaned in, caught up in the story despite himself. It sounded horrible... which made him immeasurably glad it wasn't true. It couldn't have been. Could it?

"The theory was that the Jedi had gotten trapped in another dimension, one which brushes against our own in small, limited ways."

"The space between spaces?" Hera inquired, her tone betraying a hint of doubt.

"That's the one," Sabine said. "He was trying to communicate at first... then later, all he could do was scream... he was trapped there, unable to live, unable to die, almost unable to be heard or seen... a fate worse than death..."

"That's why even the Empire bans any attempt to manufacture teleporters or the like. The technology is way too dangerous," Kanan added in low tones. Whether he was part of Sabine's act or just getting into the feel of things wasn't clear.

"But they say to this day, the spirit of that poor Jedi is still trapped there. They say in the dead of night, you can still hear his howls of despair echoing through the void..."

Another shiver, worse than the last, but Ezra ruthlessly pushed it down. Now that the story was over, he had to admit it _had_ been good. More than a little bit creepy, really. But in the end it was just a story, no matter how good. He didn't think he was all that scared.

Even so, he nearly jumped clean out of skin when the sudden bang came, crashing to the ground and scrambling to his feet, only to meet the mocking metallic laughter of Chopper, who'd just whacked one of his metallic arms against the wall. By now everyone was laughing, and Ezra felt his face grow hot.

"I wasn't scared!" he protested. "Chopper just caught me by surprise!"

"Sure kid, we believe ya," Zed said with obvious relish. "You spill any 'surprise' in your space suit?"

Fuming, Ezra stomped past the others and into the smaller maintenance room, slapping the button to make the door slide open... then abruptly remembering the power had been cut. The others laughed even harder as he used his hands to manually open the door, then manually pulled it closed.

The laughter finally died down.

Zeb was still chuckling as he leaned over and knocked on the door. "Hey come on kid we're just busting your chops. Wanna come out? We promise not to laugh," he added, holding up his hand to show everyone his fingers were crossed. Even Hera had to suppress a snicker at the sight of that.

"No way, I'll spend the night in here," Ezra's voice came through the door. "Just lemme alone."

"Ezra..." Kanan said, starting to climb to his feet. This was going a bit too far.

Hera gently caught his shoulder. "If he wants to be on his own then I say let him."

He sighed, knowing she was right. Didn't make him feel any less horrible though for his part in teasing the poor kid. "I think I'll get a moment to myself as well," Kanan said, climbing out of the cargo bay and heading forward to the cockpit. The way he patted his hip in search of something gave Hera pause.

She knew what he was doing.

* * *

><p>Kanan slumped into the co-pilots seat, shivering amidst the cold. The tin container in his hand helped to alleviate the feeling a little, though he knew in truth he was just making it worse. It didn't matter, he needed a little numbing right now. Though his drinking days were largely behind him he on occasion found reason to take a sip or two from this flask.<p>

The former padawan had been through a lot, after all. The Fall of the Republic, the Destruction of the Jedi, countless bad years of hardship, trouble, and worse. The time on Grost stood out as a particularly bad memory amongst many. Some days he needed a little nip just to fall asleep. Things were easier now, thanks to the Ghost, Hera, and their cause... but even now he occasionally had dark days, and he needed a drink.

Right now, it was out of concern for his own padawan. He did his best to take care of the kid, and not just because he was Force-sensitive. Ezra didn't have a family, the rebels on the Ghost were the closest thing they had. And Kanan was the team dad. Sometimes he worried he should've or could've been doing a better job of it... and he wasn't.

About to lift the flask to his lips, the limber twi'lek who'd snuck in behind him deftly snatched the flask away, claiming the first drink for herself. And a fair-sized one at that.

"Going to take it all?" Kanan asked with a bemused grin.

Hera returned it with a smirk, handing the flask back, and he took a smaller sip, his eyes not leaving hers as she settled into the seat with him and draped a blanket over them both, snuggling close under the thin but warm covers.

"Better to share," she remarked, resting her head on his shoulder and sighing contently.

Kanan shifted in his seat, draping an arm gently around her shoulders and making sure the blanket was more or less evenly wrapped around them both. She was right, as she usually tended to be. Sharing was definitely better.

Be it a little alcohol or little body heat.

Hera suddenly sat up, lifting up an arm to point out the window.

"Oh look... shooting star..."

His eyes followed her pointing digit. Sure enough, there, just above the clouds, was a bright streak of silver amidst the night sky. A comet or a meteor, drifting earthbound, giving an extra little glimmer to the night sky, and setting a warm, romantic mood in the cockpit of the Ghost.

"Make a wish," Kanan whispered, cuddling Hera close.

"Make a wish?" she repeated, confused.

"It's an old Coruscant myth," he explained. "Make a wish when you spot a shooting star... legend is, it comes true. Dunno where it came from, you never even saw any on Coruscant. They get blasted to pieces before they come anywhere near the planet."

Hera nodded, closing her eyes in deep thought, and smiled.

"Was it a good one?" asked Kanan.

"Mhm. Sure was," the green-skinned twi'lek replied.

"Well I hope you wished for us to get off this frozen rock," he replied, shifting under the covers, cradling her closer. She shifted against him, resting her head on his shoulder.

"Now why would I go and do that? When I know we're going to be just fine."

"How do you know that?" Kanan asked.

"Faith."

* * *

><p>In the end, Ezra didn't spend more than an hour sulking in the shed. Though it was warm enough he could've spent the night, it was dark, and he'd always disliked the dark. Bad memories found him in the dark. Back home he'd refused to sleep without a night light of some kind, and that had carried over to his time living on the Ghost.<p>

Sheepishly, he emerged, climbing back into his sleeping bag without a word to Zeb or Sabine, making no eye contact with either of them. However, an absence in the cargo hold prompted an inquiry.

"Hey, where's Kanan and Hera?"

"Up front," Sabine said, smoothing out invisible wrinkles in her sleeping bag. "Should be back soon though."

"Well they are spending an awful lot of time up there... without a heating generator," Zeb remarked knowingly. "They might not be coming back anytime soon..."

Ezra didn't follow at first, but then his eyes widened at the implications, drawing together a half dozen other incidents where Hera and Kanan had shown themselves to be close. The words they used with each other, the little gestures, the inflection of their voices. And now they were all alone up in the cockpit...

"You don't think... seriously?"

The Mandalorian girl smirked mischievously. "Well... they did say to try and keep warm..." she remarked, planting the seeds in Ezra's mind before rolling onto her side and snuggling up in her sleeping bag.

He didn't know what to think of that, but the thought soon became moot anyway as sleep claimed his befuddled brain, luring him into the sweet sinking embrace of oblivion. Darkness washed over the cargo hold as Zeb dimmed the lantern to its lowest setting, and sleep claimed the crew of the Ghost.

* * *

><p>Thankfully, the storm passed without further incident. Snug as bugs in their rugs, the crew of the Ghost passed the night without incident, waking up in the morning only a little stiffer than usual. Ezra clung to his sleeping bag the longest, but eventually even he had to get up to answer nature's call. By then, Hera had powered up the ship and Zeb had shut down the heating generator.<p>

"So, any idea where we are yet?" Ezra asked as he rejoined everyone on the bridge.

The multi-colored bob shook as Sabine glanced up from her display. "Not a clue. I get nothing on comm except static and the long range sensors are still fried. Until the storm dies down we can't even consult the star charts."

"Didn't think there were any planets like this in the system," Kanan mused aloud. "We must've been blown pretty far off-course."

Sabine nodded. "Pretty far, yeah. I'd say we're out somewhere in the Outer Rim Territories, but that's a pretty big area."

He had to agree, but even so, something about this planet felt familiar. Almost like he'd been here before.

"I wonder if this is Ilum?" Kanan mused aloud. Hera spared him a curious glance. "I've been to a planet like this before, back when I was just a youngling. It leaves quite an impression on you."

She flicked a few switches. "Short range sensors still work, let's see... arctic climate, we knew that one... twins moons... traces of kathracite, mephite and pontite in the ice... does seem to match a lot of the relevant data we have on the Ilum System."

Kanan pulled up a local map on another console, scanning the region as far as the sensor range could go. "And look at this... it's hidden, but signs of civilization. That could be the Jedi Temple."

"Love, it'd be an awful coincidence..."

"Or luck," he added, knowing where she was going and determined to cut her off before she planted the seeds of doubt in his mind. But they both also knew that luck had been a defining force in their lives, one they couldn't just ignore.

"Even if it is, so what? There's no chance there'd be anyone there that could help us. Or any equipment worth salvaging."

"No... but... there's something much more valuable there," he said with a dawning look on his face. An idea was coming to mind.

Because Ilum was unique as far as most of the Galaxy went because of a certain kind of crystals found there. It was the entire reason the Jedi had set up a temple on such an inhospitable world. These crystals were vital to the creation of lightsabers, and they only came from certain parts of the Galaxy. While it wasn't entirely unheard of for Jedi to make them artificially, Kanan had noted in most stories concerning such the blades tended to be inferior quality. Of course, the crystal was the hard part, after that the power packs, the casing, the rest of the lightsaber was easy enough to make or find just about anywhere. But the crystal was a critical point, which is why finding one had always been a time honored coming-of-age for younglings hoping to be padawans.

In fact...

"We established this planet has a weekly rotation right?" Kanan asked, checking their readouts.

"Yeah..."

"What part of the cycle are we in now?"

She double-checked before replying. "Nearly dawn. Why?"

"I've had a thought," he said with a sly grin.

* * *

><p>"We..." Kanan announced. "Are going on a pilgrimage."<p>

"A... what?" his befuddled apprentice asked.

"There's a Jedi Temple near here," he explained. "This is an important part of your Jedi training. So while Sabine and Zeb help Hera fix up the Ghost, you and I are going to pay it a visit."

"What for?" asked Ezra curiously. Not that he was complaining much, mind you.

"I'll explain on the way," his mentor stated. "Suffice to say we're taking the Phantom, it's a fair bit away and we don't have long. So grab your gear and let's get going."

Shrugging, the dark-haired human quickly did as he was bid, shouldering his pack and making sure his coat was securely fastened before following Kanan up and into the Phantom.

Outside the Ghost, Hera had started repairs, and Zeb was dropping off her toolkit. The two of them paused in their endeavors as the Phantom lifted off, its wings unfolding before it rocketed off into the cloudy horizon.

"Pilgrimage, huh?" asked the burly lasak.

"Some Jedi thing," Hera said. "Kanan seemed excited about the whole prospect... must be important."

"And meanwhile they're taking off with our only possible escape. Why do I have a bad feeling about this...?"

Hera privately agreed. She didn't like the idea of Kanan and Ezra going out alone in such a hostile environment, nor in splitting up the band. They were stronger as a team. At the same time, she knew how capable her leader was, not just as a Jedi but as a rogue who planned best when on his feet and in a tight situation. Ezra was rapidly learning the same sort of quick thinking. Likely, no matter what they encountered, they'd be fine.

None of it mattered how she thought now though. All she could do was watch as the Phantom vanished in the distance.

* * *

><p><strong><span>Authors Notes:<br>**Ilum has always been one of my favorite planets in the Star Wars franchise. It really does leave an impression on you.

I wrote this long before I saw 'Path of the Jedi' so a lot of what is to come is eerily similar to what happened in the episode. The Force must have guided me. It should still fit into continuity with a minimum of fuss though.

As he shouted out I, I simply must shout out him. 'A Loss of Hope' by Classic Cowboy is easily one of the better Star Wars Rebels fanfics I've read in a while. Whole-heartedly recommend checking it out. Bring tissues though.


	3. The Blade

"**_The Jedi is the Crystal of the Force_**."

* * *

><p>While Ezra and Kanan went on their little Jedi pilgrimage, Hera took charge of the operations back at the Ghost, lining up their needs with the available crewmen.<p>

Simply put, they had three major jobs to accomplish.

One, repairs to the hyperdrive. While the Phantom was fully operational, the Ghost was not, and even if they obtained lift off they wouldn't be able to get anywhere without a functioning hyperdrive. The nearest inhabited star system was light years away. This duty was shouldered by Hera, who grimly climbed back up atop of the Ghost and pried open the engine panel. Chopper, unable to make the climb, would be in constant communication with her from inside of the Ghost to make sure everything was going smoothly.

Two, vanadium. While the hyperdrive needed only a bit of tinkering to put back in working order, the engine core was shielded by a thin layer of vanadium metal to keep it from overheating and burning right through the Ghost. Or at least, it normally was. Right now the melted remains were useless, and they needed more if they wanted to make it more than a light-year away from the planet once they took off. Fortunately, it was a naturally occurring mineral. And as luck would have it, an entire patch of the stuff showed up on the short range scanners. Likely, a meteor had fallen planetside, which would make things much simpler to acquire when it was on the surface. This task fell to Zeb, who grimly shouldered his bo-rifle and headed westwards. With the hand-held scanners on the fritz, his keener eyesight would hopefully make the difference in locating the metal before it completely froze over.

And finally, third highest priority... food. With most of their emergency rations already gone or having been taken by the travelling Jedi, they were in need of better sustenance, and fast. This chore was reluctantly picked up by Sabine, who headed east in the opposite direction of the Ghost, hoping to find life-forms in the valleys found in that direction. Anything organic would do, providing it wasn't toxic.

Three major jobs to fulfill, each vitally important to their survival.

* * *

><p>As she tightened the screws on the piece of equipment, Hera allowed herself a moment to idly reflect on the series of events that had led her up to this point.<p>

How she'd been raised by a father who'd single-handedly led not one but two fights for twi'lek freedom, first against the Separatist movement that had nearly driven their homeworld out of the Republic, then again when the Empire had tried to impose its tyrannical will upon the twi'lek people. Cham Syndulla had been more than a father to Hera, he'd been an ideal to strive towards, and she'd always tried to live by his example. It wasn't easy, but it was the right thing to do.

That had led her to getting her own ship, the Ghost, and becoming part of a rebel cell following the end of the Clone Wars. At first she'd wanted to go it alone, figuring attachments would only complicate her mission, but then she'd met Kanan, and the rest of the crew had followed, and now it almost felt like a family of sorts. Making the Ghost less of a ship and more of a home.

_Beep. Boop-boop. Boop-beep_.

_I guess that makes Chopper the family pet_, Hera bemusedly thought. Aloud, she replied to in his interruption. "Yes I know Chopper but I know my ship. It can take it."

_Beep. Beep. Beeeep_.

"Well we don't have a manual anymore, do we?" she grumbled over the intercom.

_Beep. Boop-beep_.

"I got tired of proving the damn thing wrong," Hera said, tightening the last screw. "Okay, Chopper, fire it up."

_Beep-beep_.

The engine hummed to life, but almost immediately gave a high pitched scream as something went horrible wrong, the volume of which knocked Hera flat on her backside. Sparks flew as Hera threw up a hand to shield her face.

"Shut it down!" she yelled. "Shut it down now!"

_BEEP! BEEP! BOOP-BEEP_!

Mercifully, the power was cut, and Hera slumped back on her haunches, feeling her tears freeze in the corners of her eyelids. She was so tired of this, she just wanted to soak in a hot bath and then take a nice long nap. But, like it or not, she had a job to do, and she grimly wiped the frozen tears away and got back to it, double-checking each and every wire to see where she'd gone wrong.

"Chopper, you did remember to reconnect the thermal couplings first, right?"

_Beep._

Hera rolled her eyes. "Do it now then. We'll have to start over from scratch here..."

Waving away some of the smoke emanating from the engines, Hera took a look. Nothing was too badly damaged, but even so she had to make sure. One screw untightened, one circuit mis-aligned, the engine wouldn't work and they'd be stuck on this frozen ball of ice until they were buried in the snow. This was gonna be a long day.

The wind picked up, howling across the landscape, as Hera tried grimly to keep her teeth from chattering.

* * *

><p>Elsewhere, things weren't going smoothly for Zeb either.<p>

Finding the vanadium had been lucky, it was indeed the remains of a meteor striking the planet's surface. And as luck would have it, it hit sometime last night, so it hadn't yet cooled enough to ice over. The metal was hot, but he'd brought along gloves and a pack that could handle the heat.

The thing they couldn't handle, however, were the life-forms.

Not entirely devoid of life as some would like to believe, Ilum did boast a modest ecosystem, certain caves trapped warmth from the brief moments of sunlight, growing a rich array of lichens and fungus, which larger animals fed on. Closer to the top of the food chain were the Asharl panthers, a pale-furred, four-legged creature that was prized for its pelts in parts of the Galaxy, though the hunting of them was highly illegal.

Right now, a pack of them were clustered around the vanadium meteor, soaking in its rare warmth and defending it with fiercely territorial instincts.

"Ahh, karabast," Zeb muttered as a pair of them broke ranks and came charging towards him, kicking up great plumes of snow as they charged across the frozen landscape.

He took aim, firing off a pair of shots. Nothing lethal, he just wanted to scare them off. One he struck in the shoulder, and it went down immediately. The other he missed by a mile, and it charged in. Switching his weapon to staff form, he caught the beast as it leapt at him, knocking away sharp claws and fangs that would've tore him to bits. A strong kick and the Asharl panther went sprawling on the ground, rolling to its feet again almost instantly, eyes blazing like sapphires.

Zeb swung his staff around, jabbing at the pale panther with his electrified weapon, knocking it back. It came at him for a second dose, and he knocked it back then jabbed it hard in the chest, holding the tip in longer this time to make sure the beast got the message. It collapsed bonelessly into the tundra. It wasn't dead, but it would be unconscious for a long while yet.

By now more had arrived, but were circling more slowly, obviously intent to catch him unawares or bring him down by numbers instead of just brute force.

"Come on then, come and get some!" snarled the former lasak soldier. He twirled his electrified bo-rifle overhead, and some of the more timid members of the pack backed down.

But that was when the Alpha came forward.

A grizzled, broad-shouldered version of the regular panthers, the Alpha stood nearly a full head taller. His white fur was patchworked with old scars and one of his eyes was closed by a particularly vicious triple slash, sealing it forever shut. This didn't make Zeb feel any better about his chances though. If anything they were looking grim. But he hadn't ever backed down before in his life and he didn't intend to start now. He raised up his bo-rifle and prepared to fight.

The Alpha snarled dangerously at him, sizing him up. The two began to circle, almost moving in identical patterns in the snow. All around, the other Asharl panthers kept their distance. Evidently they were intelligent enough to recognize their boss wanted to brawl with Zeb solo. Zeb was grateful for this, alone he might manage better against the Alpha than with his pack backing him up.

"Come on then, you brute, neither of us are getting any younger," he growled at the Alpha.

The greater panther snarled at him, his one good eye locking with Zeb's.

Then he pounced, claws out and roaring wildly. The great beast smacked into Zeb before he could bring up his weapon, knocking them both to the snowy ground, sending them tumbling end over end down the hillside. Zeb lashed out with a leg, kicking the brute off of him, but it came right back for more, slapping his side with a powerful swipe of his claws and sending him crashing to the ground. In moments it was airborne in a pounce, and the lasak warrior was rolling to avoid being beneath it when it landed.

He would've loved nothing more than to get of a shot at point-blank range but there was no time to collapse his bo-rifle into rifle form, he had to stick to the melee form. The Alpha attacked again, but it made the mistake of going for Zeb's right, letting him sidestep into its blind spot. Zeb wasted no time in attack with the electrified end. Once, twice, then thrice for good measure, and finally the Asharl Panther dropped.

Zeb lifted up his weapon, preparing to impale the Alpha and finish their fight once and for all...

The great panther glared up at Zeb, its one good eye meeting the lasak's...

... and in that moment, he saw so much more than a dumb beast trying to eat him, or even defend it's territory. He saw a grizzled veteran who'd been through so much. An old honor guard... not too dissimilar from himself.

Zeb deactivated folded up his bo-rifle.

The Alpha stumbled to its paws, snarling at the other members of its pack. They fell back, one by one, slowly but steadily vanishing into the wintery landscape, blending so seamlessly with the snow they were invisible. The last to leave was the Alpha, who shared a long look with Zeb before also turning and departing.

"Masak mukul," Zeb said with a salute, a common phrase of farewell amongst his people. And especially amongst worthy opponents, which this panther clearly was.

Then he got to work.

Vanadium wasn't going to dig itself out after all.

* * *

><p>Bone-chilling winds cut across the landscape, making Sabine grateful to the heavens that she'd had the foresight to purchase the arctic cloak and bodysuit. Not only was she pleasantly toasty, she was incredibly stylish to boot.<p>

Even so, she welcomed the chance to throw back the hood when she slipped into a narrow opening in the ground, following it downaways from the howling winds. The sensor readings were erratic at best but they all agreed organic edibles were inside the cave. However, Sabine had not lived as long as she had by not being cautious, and palmed a blaster before following them in.

Inside, the cave opened up quickly to a full length crystal cavern, covered in countless icy stalactites on the ceiling that dripped down like jeweled chandeliers at an Imperial Ball. Some vents were exposed by the far end of the cavern, letting waves of heat drift upwards towards the surface and a narrow chimney. Surrounding it was a greenish lichen and a number of plants, a self-contained ecosystem. Sabine stepped closer, passing the scanner over some yellow mushrooms. Some grew almost as big as her hand.

"Hmmm, edible... barely," she remarked, not bothering to conceal her disgust.

So engrossed was Sabine in her task she failed to notice the great beast stalking up behind her until its shaggy gray shadow cast over her, forcing her to whirl around in surprise.

To put it simply, it was ugly. Mottled gray skin and thin tuffs of fur covered it from head to toe, and it towered nearly two full meters, easily a head bigger than Zeb, making Sabine feel positively tiny. Four nostrils puffed in indignation below a pair of baleful yellow eyes, and above a mouth crammed full of no less than three rows of sharp teeth. It looked angry enough to chew up metal and spit out nails.

It was a Gorgadon, and it was hungry.

It attacked suddenly, moving startling fast for something so big. The first blow knocked her helmet off, and another nearly ripped out an eye as three sharp claws grazed her face. Sabine fired off a wild shot, grazing the creature's pointed ear, and it responded by slapping her aside like she was a ragdoll, sending her crashing into an icy wall. Fortunately her bodysuit protected her from serious damage, and she rolled right back to her feet and kept on blasting. It roared as she fired at point blank range at its flabby hide, but again, it didn't seem to do enough damage. If anything all she was doing was pissing it off.

Avoiding another swipe meant to knock her head off, Sabine changed tactics. Reaching up and grasping the clasp, she threw her cloak around, covering the beasts gaze. It missed her as it charged, slamming into a supporting ice column as she hopped nimbly out of the way. But that wouldn't stop it for long. Its hide was too thick for blasters.

Inside, however, she was betting it was a different story...

Sabine fired off another shot at the ceiling, raining down more ice and snow atop of the beast's head, then palmed the detonite grenade she kept in her belt, priming it with her thumb. It had a considerable bang, but she needed to get close to use it.

"Hey ugly, over here!" she shouted, wincing immediately afterwards. She was obviously taking too many lessons in combat from her teammates. Straight-forward and direct was not her style.

Still, she had to admit it worked. The Gorgadon came charging forward, scooping up Sabine in his arms for another bone-crushing hug, roaring right in her face as it prepared to devour her headfirst and whole.

"Eat this!"

She shoved the detonite grenade down the beasts throat, grazing her elbow along the triple rows of teeth, and let go of the deadmans switch. Yanking her arm free before he could close his jaw Sabine kicked off, twisting in the air and landing in the powdered snow. She didn't wait for the ugly abomination to recover, but turned and took off running.

A hideous howl of outrage was cut off by a muffled boom, the force of which knocked the Mandalorian girl off her feet to crash into the snow drifts. Something hot and sticky came smashing down on her back, and she grimly realized it was bits of the Gorgadon's body. She grimly rolled onto her back and wiped them off. Disgusting.

"Ewww..."

* * *

><p>Zeb was just making it back to the Ghost when Sabine appeared on the horizon, stumbling over a snowy dune. Angling across the wintery landscape, he caught the young girl before she could fall, supporting her easily. And, if he was willing to be perfectly honest with himself, she helped support him as well. They'd both been through a rough day.<p>

Hera spotted them and had the cargo bay doors open and waiting by the time they arrived, as well as a reasonably temperature inside of the Ghost. "Well, you two look like you've been having fun," she said. She was covered in spots of grease and grime and looked in desperate need of a hot bath, but was smiling to see they were safe and uninjured.

Or at least, mostly uninjured, as Sabine proved when she pulled off her helmet, revealing three wicked scars stretching across her face. Hera and Zeb winced in sympathy.

"I'm fine," Sabine insisted, tucking her helmet under her arm. When Hera tried to take a closer look, she gently brushed her aside. "I'll put some bacta-pack on them later."

Seeing she wasn't going to budge on this, Hera reluctantly backed off. "Alright then... did you have any luck finding supplies?"

The multi-colored Mandalorian nodded, opening up the pack at her side and shook out its contents on the kitchen table, revealing...

"Plants?" asked Hera, fingering a length of something green and fuzzy.

"Lichens and fungus mostly. All edible, according to the scanner," Sabine stated. She proceeded to dish out some of the greens and browns out on some plates, setting them around the table. Hera and Zeb shared a look, then gave her one of long suffering.

"It's all I could scrounge up," Sabine defended. "The only animals I found were toxic. Suck it up, you could both stand to lose a few pounds anyway."

Hera blinked in surprise at that statement, patting down her midsection as if suddenly expecting to be ten pounds heavier. But she seemed as fit as ever. Certainly no one else had been complaining about her figure.

"Rrfrrghra show you losing a few pounds," the big lasak grumbled, even as he reluctantly tipped over a bottle of sauce and poured a generous amount on his portion of vegetables. It'd didn't make it look even slightly more appetizing.

Hera sighed, shoulders and neck aching, yet knowing she had to go right back to work with Zeb's acquired vanadium if they wanted to have any hope of taking off soon. Despite the awful taste, she continued to shovel more of the lichens into her mouth and let them ferment in her stomach, knowing she'd need the strength.

She really hoped Kanan and Ezra were having an easier time of things than they were.

* * *

><p><strong><span>Authors Notes:<br>**Mostly made this chapter to fill time and space, as well as show the rest of the crew wasn't lollygagging. Coming up next is the real fun at the Jedi Temple with Master and Student.

Asharl Panthers and Gorgadon's both exist on Ilum, and have been encountered before in various spin-off media and expanded universe.


	4. The Jedi

"**_The Force is the Blade of the Heart_**."

* * *

><p>As the Phantom cruised through the freezing winds, its occupants remained quiet, each focused on their own thoughts.<p>

For Kanan, it was on how best to complete their objective. Ezra needed this trial, and Kanan wasn't positive he was ready for it. He knew the kid was capable, but in a self-reliant sort of way, he was still learning much of the living Force. And if this was anything like his own trial on Ilum, so long ago it seemed, it would be difficult. Even dangerous.

Ezra, meanwhile, was withdrawn. He shivered in his parka, but it wasn't just from the cold. He had a nagging feeling in his gut something was wrong. Not with their personal mission, but back with the Ghost. He had a feeling one or more of his friends was hurt.

Ordinarily he might've brushed off the thought, but with learning so much of the Force as he had, he couldn't help but wonder if he was truly sensing things.

He kept his thoughts to himself though, watching Kanan up in the front of the Phantom. Surely he'd sense such things as well, if they were truly in danger, and turn them around. As it was, they pressed on. They had a limited window of opportunity and no margin for error.

* * *

><p>As luck would have it, they'd reached the location just as the sun was starting to creep up over the horizon. Kanan took that as a good sign. The Force wanted them to succeed in their trip. Easing the Phantom to land beside the glacier wall, he and Ezra slipped out of the scout ship and back into the howling snowstorm that perpetually covered the planet.<p>

"So where do we find these crystals? How big are they? What're they made of? What color are they?" Ezra fired off questions, finally breaking the oppressive silence.

_Kid sure had a lot of questions_, Kanan thought with a bemused grin. He wondered idly if he'd been half as much of a chatterbox back when he'd been a padawan. Aloud, he did his best to reply to the rapid-fire string of questions.

"Alright, alright, enough. The crystals naturally form in a cavern below the Jedi Temple, that's why it was constructed here in the first place. To be honest I'm not sure what they're made of. I think it's always been a bit of a mystery to the Jedi Order as well. Maybe it's like the Force... crystallized or some such. Oh and lightsaber crystals come in a variety of colors, though blue and green seem to be the most common."

"Like the blades?"

"Exactly. I knew only one Jedi whose weapon was purple... Master Windu. He was quite the impressive warrior during the Clone Wars," Kanan remembered.

"What about red?" asked Ezra, remembering well the weapon the Inquisitor had used against them.

"Those are different," Kanan replied immediately, his tone hardening. "Dark Jedi have to artificially manufacture those. And I think there's some sort of... evil ceremony involved. Channeling dark emotions and the like into their weapons. You won't find anything like that here."

"Can other crystals be artificially manufactured?" Ezra asked. "I mean, why come all the way out here if we can just make what we need."

"Well for one thing these crystals work better. You could almost say they're more refined, though that's not exactly the right term. And for another the Empire bans the trade or sale of crystals like the ones we want," Kanan explained. "The Emperor knows any Jedi left in the galaxy would be just about the only ones who'd want to use them."

By now the two of them had reached the frozen wall, which stretched on for miles in either direction. Puzzled, Ezra could see no entrance, if indeed the Temple was even here at all.

"Are you sure we're in the right place?" asked Ezra. The howling wind forced him to yell the question a second time when Kanan didn't seem to hear him.

"Positive," Kanan replied, also shouting to be heard over the screaming winds. "You don't forget something like this. We should be able to get it to open up without much trouble. Then we get your crystal and get back to the Ghost. Oh, and one more thing... no weapons," Kanan said, confiscating Ezra's energy slingshot. "You won't need them."

"So why does it matter whether or not I'm armed?" protested the young man.

"Trust me, it matters. Now... last time I was here I came as part of a bigger group... but... if we _really_ focus... we should be enough," Kanan said. Closing his eyes, he reached out with the Force. While Ezra provided the raw power, he guided it and shaped it to their purposes.

The great ice slabs began to slide into the ground one by one as they unlocked before them, revealing a hidden entrance behind them, nearly thirty meters in height. A giant could have strolled between the open doors without any difficulty, leaving Ezra in awe as he and Kanan stepped through and into the Temple of the Jedi.

* * *

><p>Even Kanan, who had been here before, felt his breath leave him in awe at the sight of the inner chamber, where statues of lightsaber wielding Jedi stood hundreds of feet tall and easily thousands of years old. The whole place had been ancient when he'd come here over a decade ago and likely would continue to be here long after he'd become one with the Force. One couldn't help but feel puny, even insignificant, in the grand cosmic scale presented here. Yet amidst that was a flowing sense of peace and tranquility. With an underlying sense of purpose, like a river that knew which way it had to flow. Here, the lighter side of the Force was strong, washing over minds and souls like a soothing, healing balm, washing away cares and concerns.<p>

Unfortunately the effect was somewhat ruined as Ezra kicked something in the snow, dislodging an armor-plated arm and a wicked Imperial blaster. Frowning, he leaned down to brush back more of the snow and broken ice, discovering a body beneath. A frozen corpse in Imperial armor. Kanan spotted more of them around one of the columns. Clone Troopers, wearing outdated armor. Probably from the very tail end of the Clone Wars. Many of them had been cut up by slashes, not the sort made by animal claws, but by lightsabers. Jedi must have been here, fighting against their own troops turned against them.

Order Sixty-Six.

Curiously, there was no Jedi bodies to be found amongst the frozen corpses. Kanan took this as a good sign. The Jedi stationed here may have been able to escape the purge, same as he had.

Ezra was having similar thoughts when he spotted something glinting in a drift of snow. Hoping against hope they'd already found the crystal they needed, he was over the spot in seconds, brushing aside the snow to reveal a small metallic cube.

"Is that what I think it is?"

"Holocron," Kanan confirmed, brushing his thumb over it and letting the Force connect. It unfolded neatly, splitting off into small fragments as ancient technology and the will of the Force seamlessly blended together. A holographic image coalesced into being in front of them, that of a purple-skinned, full figured twi'lek still in her prime, dressed in the dun-colored robes of a Jedi. Her features were soft and gentle, and her gaze clear, calm and serene, even as she relayed bad news.

"_This is Master Marra of the Jedi Order, recording final entry. The Clone Troopers are pressing in with no signs of stopping. All attempts to signal off-world are being met with failure. Our communications have been disabled. We cannot allow the Temple to fall... and yet we are equally unable to stop this onslaught. I will seal the entrance, and permit no one to break through. We may not make it out of this. If you find this message, relay our words to Coruscant. Hopefully the Order will know what to do_."

Kanan sighed, pocketing the holocron. Master Marra Henis hadn't exactly been a friend of his, but every Jedi's death had hurt him when the order to betray them had gone through. He sincerely hoped she'd made it out alive, but her message didn't inspire confidence.

"Is this it?" asked Ezra, looking all around. All the other exits were blocked with ice that looked very thick. Even if they had their blasters it would be near impossible to get through, and of course they didn't since Ezra's teacher insisted they didn't need them.

Kanan remembered this crucial part of the Jedi defenses. During the early part of the Clone Wars there'd been an attack by Separatists bomber droids that had nearly destroyed everything, so they'd installed something new to keep out enemy forces before the fall of the Old Republic. He glanced up at the ceiling at the intricate lock, frozen solid from years of neglect.

"No, just... hold on a moment," Kanan said. "This part could be tricky. Master Yoda did it before but... I think I know what to do."

Again master and padawan stretched out with the Force, grasping hold of the mechanism telekinetically. It resisted at first, but slowly began to move, rotating it into place. Another nudge through the Force and they'd opened a panel in the side of the wall. Daylight streamed in through the narrow opening. The focusing crystals guided the light, harnessing it like a heating laser, melting down the ice of the main entrance and providing clear passage deeper into the heart of the Temple.

"Whoa," Ezra said, watching the whole process in amazement. "That is easily the coolest thing I have ever seen."

His Jedi mentor smirked. "It's about to get much cooler. And unfortunately I mean that literally, we have to move... the doors are on a timer. If we don't get back here before daylight ends we get frozen inside the crystal caves. We won't last there overnight."

"Got it. In and out, quick-like," Ezra replied, already strolling up to the entrance. Kanan followed alongside him.

Inside the tunnels was darker, but still reasonably well lit, the ice reflecting light again and again until it provided a dull illumination across most every tunnel. More bodies of Clone Troopers lined the halls, some slashed by lightsabers, their end quick. Others looked like they'd tried to claw their way out or been huddled for warmth in the inner tunnels, long since frozen under a thin layer of ice.

Ezra felt a chill run down his spine, but stubbornly ignored it. He wouldn't make their mistake. In and out, grab a crystal, get out. Nothing to it. Except that the inner tunnels seemed almost devoid of any sort of crystals, just endless pathways of ice and snow. Ezra made his way down one corridor and then another, searching and ultimately finding nothing. His mentor offered no insight, just kept close enough to keep Ezra in sight, saying nothing.

"You can't just show me the way?" Ezra asked. The older man shook his head.

"Bad enough I'm even down here with you," Kanan replied. "This is your quest, not mine."

"So... how do I know...?"

"Each crystal is unique," Kanan explained, feeling he could give him this much. "Like a snowflake, no two are alike. And each resonates with a particular... uh... frequency I think. Yeah let's go with that. So..."

"I need to find one that _sounds_ good?" Ezra said, picking up a hunk of ice and knocking it against the wall, then holding it to his ear. Like tuning a fork.

The older Jedi grimaced. "I guess that analogy works. But more like you need to find one that resonates well for _you_. Then and only then can you construct a lightsaber that's suited to you. The Force will guide you."

Ezra knew his mentor well enough now that to recognize his default response when he didn't want to admit he didn't know. Still, more often than not, he'd been proved right. What Ezra had more than once attributed to raw luck had often saved his bacon, maybe the Force _was_ guiding him. He decided to trust it now.

"Okay then... we go left," he said as they reached an intersection, following the path chosen in question.

Almost immediately, the ground suddenly cracked, giving way beneath his feet, and Ezra went tumbling down.

"Ezra!" Kanan reached out, trying to grab him with the Force, but he couldn't quite get a grip before his padawan learner went tumbling down into the cold abyss, vanishing from sight.

"EZRA!"

* * *

><p>Sensation returned slowly, but unfortunately for Ezra, the first one to come back was pain. A sharp, stinging pain in his head, to be precise. Nothing felt broken, and hesitantly he sat up, clutching his temple as his eyes lowly opened. The dim lighting started out as a blur, then came back into sharp focus as his other senses and full awareness returned to him. The throbbing in his head slowly faded to a dull ache.<p>

"Ugh... my hea-... oh no, Kanan!"

A quick look around confirmed Kanan hadn't fallen in with him. The crevice had spilled into another room deeper down in the Temple.

"KANAN!"

His voice carried far, but there was no reply save his own echoes off the icy walls. It looked like he'd fall into an armory for the Clone Wars, many helmets had been set up on some makeshift shelves, alongside blasters and other equipment. All were frozen under a thin layer of ice, yet their dark eyes seemed to track Ezra's movements. Lights had been imbedded along the walls, but flickered from time and disuse ominously, almost like candles. Overall, the whole chamber was organized less like an armory and more like a shrine, with clone trooper helmets in place of skulls. You didn't need to be a Jedi to sense the Dark Side here. It wrapped around everything like a dreadful cloak, dimming the light, chilling the soul.

Two bodies were here as well, partially preserved by the ice. The one the right was a womans, to judge by her clothing and general figure. She was shorter than average, wearing dark, form-fitting armor of a sort similar to Sabine's. Above the neck there was nothing, an obvious cause of death. A head with a mane of crimson locks was found a short distance away from the body. Her limbs splayed out in unnatural fashion, twisted in a most painful fashion. Even in death she looked distinctly uncomfortable. The other body was clad in the brown robes of a Jedi Knight, a man not much older than Kanan with a full beard. His arms resting across his chest, his expression more peaceful. A wound in his stomach seemed the obvious cause of death, though whatever he had died of, it seemed he'd died peacefully.

They lay on either side of the chamber, forcing Ezra to step between them as he hesitantly moved forward. Something was... calling to him. Drawing him on.

At the far end of the chamber the ice had been carved into a frozen effigy of sorts. It seemed like it had been carved by hand, for nature did not seem the sort to give it such functional asymmetry as it had. It resembled something similar to a storm troopers face, though it was darker, more malevolent. A great domed head and a pair of dark eyes over a triangular mouth plate. Steam rose from the sides of the mouth plate, making it looked almost eerily alive.

_KSSSHHH KUUUHHH... KSSSHHH KUUUHHH..._

And then there was that sound. It sounded very much like breathing. Harsh, metallic breathing. The intake of breath of a machine... or a monster.

_KSSSHHH KUUUHHH... KSSSHHH KUUUHHH..._

And there, resting right below the huge helmeted head, was a crystal. It shone with a pale golden light unhindered by the crimson stones surrounding it, flashing almost like a beacon as Ezra hesitantly made his way closer. He tried to reach for it, but it seemed like the helmeted face loomed that much more terribly in his vision as he tried. He could feel an evil chill wash over him.

_KSSSHHH KUUUHHH... KSSSHHH KUUUHHH..._

Ezra yanked his hand back, clutching his fingers, feeling all the warmth leaving them. This place was darker than dark, it was evil. Perhaps the crystal here wasn't meant for him after all, if it was here surrounded by shadows and darkness and death. Ezra had no desire to fall to the Dark Side. And he'd had many times come very close to it. Their clashes with the Inquisitor, the beast he'd summoned on Fort Anaxes, the countless time he's felt anger, or jealousy, or hatred...

And yet, each time he'd brushed with Darkness, he'd only emerged with a stronger appreciation for the Light. It held only as much power over him as he allowed it.

"You have no power over me," he said softly, more to give himself courage than anything else. "You can't hurt me."

The ground rumbled, the floor shaking under his feet slightly. He kept his balance with minimal effort, but it seemed like the ceiling could come down on him at any moment. And the rumbling seemed to echo through the great domed effigy in front of him. Almost like dark laughter.

_KSSSHHH KUUUHHH... KSSSHHH KUUUHHH..._

"I'm not afraid of you," Ezra declared defiantly.

He reached for the crystal, feeling darkness loom threateningly again. He swore he saw the malevolence hiding behind those dark eyes. Like a great gaping abyss. And for a moment, he couldn't look away...

"I am not afraid!"

His hand snapped forward with years of practice, snatching the crystal as easily as if he'd pilfered a melooron fruit from some unsuspecting vendor. Ezra threw himself backwards from the darkness in the same instant, tumbling onto his heels and backside. But in that moment, the darkness lifted, the lights came back up, bright as ever. The ice effigy in front of him seemed less malevolent now, almost comical really. It was no more threatening than any other helmet he'd ever seen. It was what behind a helmet that was truly dangerous.

And now, this one was empty. The darkness was gone.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Ezra climbed back to his feet, uncurling his clenched hand. In it lay a bright chunk of yellow crystal.

"I got it!" he declared triumphantly.

Stepping out from behind the cave entrance Kanan smirked, arms folded across his chest as he leaned against the frozen wall. "Good job kid. Now let's blow this joint and go home."

* * *

><p><strong><span>Authors Notes:<br>**Including in this chapter were a few shout outs to one of my older Star Wars works, Cold Void, some details of which were kept vague so as not to conflict with the setting.

Thanks as always to Comet-hime, now known as Badger the Gnome, for her use of Jedi Master Marra Henis. She should still have some fan art of her up on deviantart under the name Rachelillustrates.

Obviously, Ezra's crystal test involved an image of Darth Vader, whom he doesn't know (at least not yet). Attribute that to the will of the Force. I felt it appropriate, however, given his love of collecting helmets and his occasional straying towards the Dark Side.

While I long suspected Ezra would eventually pick up a blue lightsaber, my money was on green for a while, in part because of the underlying symbology of such. But I really wanted his to be yellow, in line with the Jedi Sentinels, who tended to think and act outside of the box, much as Ezra does. Hence the crystal here being that color. Ah well, ce la vie.


End file.
